


How to Rescue a Whelp on Draenor

by exilefromlife



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Comfort, Draenor, Gen, druids have no sense of self preservation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exilefromlife/pseuds/exilefromlife
Summary: Anrali finds a strange creature hiding in a tree near Admiral Taylor's garrison.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	How to Rescue a Whelp on Draenor

**Author's Note:**

> [Laeviss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laeviss) gave me this idea with his screenshots.

Being stuck on Draenor wasn’t like being stuck somewhere on Azeroth. The insects were different, the enemies entirely foreign, the plants a _whole_ new experience. The worgen startles backwards from one of said plants when it moves after being stuck by the end of her staff. At first, she wonders if it’s going to attack, but it simply curls back up and she’s left looking like a fool flat on her ass. Anrali, a druid caught up in the mess thanks to being the Cenarion Circle’s main adventurer contact within the Alliance, sighs and begins hauling herself back up when a noise to her side catches her attention.

There, in the base of a tree, are two small, red eyes peering out from their hiding place. Even from several feet away, she can see that what they belong to is shaking something fierce. She places her staff back down and kneels to try and get a better look. She can’t quite make out what the mass is, not with the light difference between outside the tree and inside the hole. Anrali’s tufted ear flicks with curiosity and she scoots a little closer.

“Well, what do we have here, hmm? You’re terrified of something, aren’t you little one?” She sniffs. No sign of the familiar putrid stench that tends to cling to the hostile things in the Spires. It’s little reassurance on this strange planet, but one nonetheless.  
  
The creature blinks and appears to slink backwards away from her, causing Anrali to sigh. “I know, big scary wolf that talks. Must be unsettling. But it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Light, here she is, talking to a creature that probably can’t even understand her. She _must_ be losing her mind. “But I’m worried you’re hurt. Some nasty things came around here not too long ago, and I just want to make sure you’re okay.”  
  
How to lure out an unknown creature, part one. Anrali could write a damn book. She reaches into one of her belt pouches and takes out a wrapped rice ball to set between her and it. “It’s not meat, if you’re not into that. Just some rice and seaweed. It’s quite safe.”  
  
The creature inches forward a little, but still remains cloaked in shadow. The worgen can hear it sniff and make a derogatory sound. “Yeah, fair. It _is_ good, though.”  
  
How to lure out an unknown creature, part two. She reaches into a different pouch and pulls out a piece of salted beef to set next to the rice ball. _This_ gets more attention, but just as the thing is about to step out of the hole, it seems to realize its mistake and ducks back as far as it can go. Anrali sighs.

How to lure out an unknown creature, part three: now featuring standard druid stupidity. Anrali grits her teeth. “I swear by all that’s holy, if you bite my hand off, I’m throwing you into the muck.” She scoots the last couple of feet forward, getting another hiss for her trouble, and shifts into her human form. She doesn’t want to accidentally hurt the thing with her long claws. Her red hair tumbles over her shoulder as she reaches into the hole to grip whatever it is by the scruff of its neck and pull it out.

Surprisingly, the creature doesn’t resist her actions, instead emitting a startled squeak and allowing her to bring it out into the light and set it in her lap.  
  
”See, now, was that so--” She trails off when she realizes that she just pulled out a _black dragon whelp_. “Wait. **_**Wrathion?!**_** ”

The whelp looks at her, nods, and proceeds to tremble uncontrollably. Anrali’s heart breaks a little and she quickly unclasps her cloak to wrap around the dragon. “Wrathion, by the _Light!_ Are you okay?! I found the journal in Taylor’s garrison, I thought you were _dead!”_ She’s not friends with him, but knows him due to her gallivanting around at his behest. He’d paid well.

“Not dead…” Wrathion replies, voice flat. He burrows into the cloak.

“I can see that. Are you hurt? What happened in the garrison…did you escape unharmed?” She can’t see much of him, but there doesn’t appear to be any new blood on the grass between the tree and her lap.

He pokes his nose out of the cloak nest and shakes his head. “No…but…”

“Okay. You don’t have to tell me anything. No wonder you’re shaking, I can’t imagine being alone here for a long time.” Anrali scoops up the whole nest and hugs it tightly. She can hear what sounds like muffled sobs from inside the cloak. “Oh, Wrathion, it’s okay, you’re okay now.”

“No! I’m not! I fucked up! I listened to Kairoz _like an idiot_ , I helped bring Garrosh here, _everything’s going wrong!”_ The dragon wails, obviously deeply traumatized by his experiences. He doesn’t struggle against her hold.

The druid rolls her eyes and stands, grabbing her staff. “You fucked up, I’ll give you that much. I’ve got a pretty good feeling that all of that wasn’t your idea, though. I remember what was going on in Pandaria…you got desperate, didn’t you?”

Wrathion’s silent as Anrali starts walking towards Veil Terokk. She’s earned renown with the Arakkoa, as her title as Talon Queen would suggest. Wrathion would be safe there until she could smuggle him back to Azeroth through the portals in Ashran. The dragon sighs.

“I got _stupid_.” He says miserably. “I thought...Kairoz told me he knew about my dreams. Said he could help. Said he knew of a solution.”  
  
”Mm. Well, you’ll have a lot of work to do on Azeroth to repair the situation, but at least I can get you there rather than leaving you here. Draenor is _awful_.” She shifts her grip on him to be more secure.

“Why do you care? Why aren’t you mad?”

“Because being angry with you doesn’t help anyone, nor does it change anything. You did what you did, the only thing you can do now is try to repair the damage you’ve done.” Anrali _is_ mad, but her words are true. Anger’s not going to help anyone. “Besides, part of my job as a druid of the Cenarion Circle is to try to preserve species as best as possible. I’d be failing that if I left the last black dragon to die, wouldn’t I?”

Wrathion makes a noise of assent. “How long until we’re back on Azeroth?”

“Tomorrow. Tonight, you need food and rest. In the morning, I’ll stuff you in my backpack--”

_“Excuse me?!”_

“--and take you to the portals in Ashran. Then I’ll get you out of Stormwind and you can do whatever you damn well please, I suppose. Sound like a plan?”

“Hardly.”

Anrali grins down at where his red eyes are visible in the cloak. “Got a better one, genius?”

The whelp looks away. “No.”

“Mhm.”


End file.
